The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2 eBook

engaged in encountering each other, became so absorbed
in it that, they could not attend to anything else.
Somadatta’s son, for enhancing the glory of
Drona, resisted king Manimat of great activity as
the latter came to fight. Then Manimat quickly
cut off the bowstring, the standard, the banner, the
charioteer and the umbrella of Somadatta’s son
and caused them to fall down from the latter’s
car.[49] The son of Somadatta then, bearing the device
of the sacrificial stake on his standard, that slayer
of foes, quickly jumping down from his car, cut off
with his large swords, his antagonist with his steeds,
charioteer, standard, and car. Re-ascending then
upon his own car, and taking up another bow, and guiding
his steeds himself, he began, O monarch, to consume
the Pandava host. Vrishasena (the son of Karna),
competent for the feat, resisted with showers of arrows
king Pandava who was rushing to battle like Indra
himself following the Asuras for smiting them.
With maces and spiked bludgeons, and swords and axes
and stones, short clubs and mallets, and discs, short
arrows and battle-axes with dust and wind, and fire
and water, and ashes and brick-bats, and straw and
trees, afflicting and smitting, and breaking, and
slaying and routing the foe, and hurling them on the
hostile ranks, and terrifying them therewith, came
Ghatotkacha, desirous of getting at Drona. The
Rakshasa Alambusha, however, excited with rage, encountered
him with diverse weapons and diverse accoutrements
of war. And the battle that took place between
those two foremost of Rakshasas resembled that which
took place in days of old between Samvara and the
chief of the celestials. Thus blessed be thou,
took place hundreds of single combats between car-warriors
and elephants, and steeds and foot-soldiers of thy
army and theirs in the midst of the dreadful general
engagement. Indeed, such a battle was never seen
or heard of before as that which then took place between
those warriors that were bent upon Drona’s destruction
and protection. Indeed, many were the encounters
that were then seen on all parts of field, some of
which were terrible, some beautiful, and some exceedingly
fierce, O lord.’”

SECTION XXIV

“Dhritarashtra said, ’When the troops
were thus engaged and thus proceeded against one another
in separate divisions, how did Partha and the warriors
of my army endued with great activity fight? What
also did Arjuna do towards the car-warriors of the
Samsaptakas? And what, O Sanjaya, did the Samsaptakas,
in their turn, do to Arjuna?’

“Sanjaya said, ’When the troops were thus
engaged and proceeded against one another, thy son
Duryodhana himself rushed against Bhimasena, leading
his elephant division. Like an elephant encountering
an elephant, like a bull encountering a bull, Bhimasena,
summoned by the king himself, rushed against that
elephant division of the Kaurava army. Skilled
in battle and endued with great might of arms, Pritha’s